More from Memphis

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to Memphis this past weekend to watch the Cardinals Triple A team play on Saturday and Sunday.  I admit I am extremely fortunate to have a family that loves minor league baseball.  My daughter is 10, my son will be 7 in July.  They both pick out favorite players to follow.  During a game last year in Nashville, Greg Garcia gave my son a ball and autographed it for him after the game.  Garcia played a handful of games with the Cardinals, having a walk off hit by pitch in one game.  He is a nice guy, but I am afraid he will be the 4A type player.   My son got 12 guys to sign a ball this weekend, including Garcia.  He asked Garcia if he remembered him from Nashville.  Garcia just laughed, winked at him and said sure.

My wife is also a huge fan.  I asked her a few weeks ago what she wanted to do for her 40th birthday, which was Sunday.  Her first thought was baseball.  Who would not love a woman who spends her birthday and Mother's Day at the ballpark.   She did receive a nice gift from the park, but I will save that for another post. 

My daughter and I spent our spare time getting autos on cards.  I try to buy minor league team sets at the Cardinals Winter Warm Up in January every year.  I can usually get them for $5 each.  Not all minor league guys have licensed cards, so minor league sets are a great value as far as having something to get signed. We had seats in the front row behind the Memphis dugout for both games, prime area for getting autos.

These 4 cards are from the 2014 Springfield Cardinals team set.  The Kurt Heyer on the bottom right is the only card we got signed on Saturday.  Every Saturday night there is a player or two that signs autographs as you walk in.  Tuivailala signed before the game.  Marco Gonzales and Zach Petrick were charting pitches during the game, but gladly signed in between innings.  Only a handful of people recognized them in street clothes.

Tim Cooney stopped to sign after he finished playing long toss before the game.  He made his MLB debut a few weeks ago, lasting only 2 innings while giving up 3 runs.  My daughter loved talking to him about his pink cleats he was wearing for Mother's Day.

Cody Stanley also made his MLB debut this year, hitting a single in his first at bat. 

These 3 cards are from the 2012 Springfield Cardinals set.  All 3 players have had brief stints in the Major Leagues.  John Gast and Keith Butler signed after playing long toss before the game.  Xavier Scruggs signed after the game.  He was the only player who used a pink bat that day.

Stephen Piscotty has been one of the Cardinals top 5 prospects the last couple of years.  He should make his debut later this year.  He also signed after the game.  He was very well spoken, but I guess you can expect that from someone who graduated from Stanford with an engineering degree.

This is my favorite card from the weekend.  It is from 2015 Topps Heritage.  Tuivailala signed it first before the game, Scruggs after.